Speechless
by MiathoL
Summary: The boys find themselves way over their heads as they investigate the horrors of Aperture Science, but not without the reluctant help of a girl who was just thrown from the only life she's ever known.
1. Chapter 1

**On a favor to my friend , inspired by the first chapter by Vampiresquid42. I will prolly be switching off chapter by chapter with the boys and Chell, until, well. ;D**

**Also, just go with the timeline. And by timeline I mean lack of one. It'll make sense, just give me some credit because I've got nothing but the end of the 20****th**** century and a canon blank in years future, but I suppose it's like 2080 because of Cryo specs that would be boring. But it makes sense so just ask if you'd like to know them. But the thing said 5-555? GAH IDK GO WITH IT *heavy breathing***

"Dean, I really don't want to take this case."

Cruising comfortably in the Impala for about seven hours now, Sam and Dean reluctantly were on their way to northern Michigan to research the supposedly abandoned Aperture Science facility.

Supposedly abandoned. Locals were reporting activity in the area and it was garnishing national attention, though no attempts were being made to investigate. Infamous for human testing, and abducting subjects, no one wanted to get too close, especially of the inactivity for the past hundred years.

It's history was vague, yet brutal. Little was known about testing and few successful products came forth, until suddenly, all the employees vanished and the facility shut down.

No one was certain of the inner workings.

It was just up Sam and Dean's alley.

"What? Man, I didn't want to take this, and you were all like, 'Science! History!' No. This is our only lead and we're only an hour away." Exasperated, Dean nearly slammed on the brakes. This was a hard case to buy and now Sam wanted out.

"I know. But, I don't know. I've been thinking. This might not be our usual deal. The founder was insane. He only used human test subjects and would stop at nothing. The rumors-," Dean huffed.

"I don't want to hear another one of your conspiracies, Sam. Up until last week you had no idea this place even existed."

"No, last week I remembered it existed. It's a shower curtain company, but I tied these two case studies at Stanford to it and it turns out it's more."

"And you just remembered this?"

"The cases were for a crazy failed diet pudding and missing astronauts." Sam looked at Dean carefully.

"Cave Johnson was a lunatic obsessed with innovations, and suddenly his headquarters turn on. I don't know Dean." Sam looked ahead to the fleeting and bleak farm lands.

Dean smirked. "Well we've come this far. I did some research too, and we can at least rule out demons. This bitch is located in a salt mine."

Sam returned with a half-hearted cough of a laugh and returned his gaze to the window once more.

**Sorry it's short, but the first and second chapters are more prologues, and the story will start to pick up chapter three. **

**Next one up tomorrow.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Barely 500 words for that last chapter. Pathetic. Here we go with Chell.**

**ALSO! Gabe said that Chell "Probably could talk but doesn't to not give GLaDOS the pleasure of eliciting a response." She talks, just not yet.**

When you have one dream that you dedicate your entire life to dreaming about, what is there left to do when that dream comes true?

All Chell wanted was freedom. Every test, every day spent in Aperture, every brush with death she was pining for freedom.

And all of a sudden, she had it.

And all she had to do was shoot a portal on the moon.

GLaDOS had granted her her freedom after all those years of being tortured in chambers and wasting life in Cryo-sleep. And for what? Science? All the contact with Aperture products worked! The portal gun, the repulsion gel, conversion gel, hard light bridges, her long fall boots too.

Especially her long fall boots. She was thrilled they had removed her surgically implanted leg braces, but the thought of all the people who suffered and died before her to make these things work, she was beyond lucky. If she was trapped, testing forever, at least she would be alive and not testing the truly risky gadgets.

But she was free! And she had her companion cube! What more could be asked?

Well, many things actually. For one, she was in the middle of a wheat field, and unsure when the adrenal vapor would run out of her body. And then what could she do?

Eat wheat straight?

What a stupid thought! Chell quickly averted her focus.

The world. What has the world come to? What happened to Aperture? Where is she going to go? What happened while she was under?

So many questions, and no one to answer them. But first and foremost, where was she to go?

With no information and not a friend in the world, where is she going to go? Would people even be there to find? A lot could have happened.

With a burst of love and happiness, she looked to the sun, thrilled to be in natural, warm light and breathing clean air.

She forgot how beautiful the sun was. Maybe she never knew. All her memories were fuzzy, corrupted with GLaDOS' smear tactics.

But here she was! Free at last! With the largest smile she mustered in a long time, she let out a croaked half to the sky, followed by a coughing fit.

_It's been awhile. _

She smiled once more.

With a renewed sense of optimism, she took another look around her and saw the faintest trace of a trail leading through the wheat. With no other options than wandering aimlessly, she picked up the cube with the gun, marginally surprised it wasn't taken, and left to follow the trail.

xxx

Her sense of distance was biased as she was so fit. Miles after miles blew by, hindered not by her tiring legs, but the bulkiness of the cube, but evened out with the springiness of her boots. After so long, she began to grow doubtful, thinking perhaps she is following the trail of an animal, until in the far far distance, she saw a wall of grey and the faintest outline of various levels of buildings.

At was Aperture for sure, but at least there would be a road.

With purpose, she continued walking past the golden glow of wheat, not taking the air, sun and quiet for granted. She let her mind go blank as she methodically wandered. No use being pessimistic about the world. She was free, and if she was the last alive in a post-apocalyptic world, she would much rather die in an abandoned luxury shoe store than in a death camp that took the lives of thousands.

At one point, her mind wandered back to when Wheatley pulled her from Cryo-sleep. As he navigated her to the testing track, she couldn't help but notice all the different pods that surely contained people. Surely if she could survive, they could too? What if they were still there, not dead or alive until someone (_she?) _opened the box? And Wheatley by chance chose her?

No.

She shook the thought from her mind. There would be no way to reach them, anyway. She only felt more determination to continue as the skyline morphed into a more definitive outline of civilization.

She was okay, she will be okay, and she survived Aperture, she could survive this.


	3. Chapter 3

**If anyone cares, I've got another whole 13 chapters planned out for this. **

They drive.

And drive.

And drive.

Mile after mile of trees, followed by miles of coast overlooking Lake Superior through the shabby towns, through the fields. Mile after mile of wheat fields.

This, however, was nothing new. There is no worse driving than through the barren highways of Nebraska, Idaho or Montana. At least they were on the Lake, that is less common. They drive in silence for a way, and Dean notes the last time he saw a great lake was in Milwaukee, and Lake Michigan.

Oh yeah. Running from that agent.

Good times. Really good.

With a smirk as he remembered the outcome, he shifted his eyes to Sam, who was studiously switching between Aperture history pages and a map of the Upper Peninsula. He looks back to the road and shifts the Impala up a gear as they begin a steep incline.

When they reach the top of the hill, there is a rest area and Dean decides to pull up and park for a moment.

He gets out of the car to stretch his legs. He wanders over to the large tourist map on the board.

Not nearly as geographically inclined as his brother, he pays little mind to it, but does notice they are in fact running out of land to drive through. He casts his eyes to the horizon and down the hill. In the distance, he makes out miles of wheat fields that center to a small town, literally a speck from this vantage, and more wheat, then an even tinier blot of black nearly on the edge of the water.

"Sam, come check this out." Dean knocks once on his window as he goes to open the trunk. He pulls out a beer and goes to sit on the hood, overlooking once more.

Sam takes his time folding the map and tucking the book away, but eventually makes his way to see the overlook.

"You think that's it?" He places his hand over his eyes to shield the high sun.

"The far black? I don't know, you've got the map, but I mean, how many other things could it be? Those look like smoke stacks."

"But the book says a lot of Aperture's operations were underground." He reaches around to pull the book off the passenger seat. "Yeah, Dean. It says they were."

Downing the last gulp of cheap beer, he pitches it away and gets back into the car.

"We'll just have to see."

XXX

They drive more and more and more until they finally get to the town.

How can these people even farm all that wheat? Hell, how does it even grow this far north?

Nevertheless, they finally make it to this rundown excuse for a town the founders never even bothered to name.

They pass through, scoping out liquor stores, motels and diners before reopening the map and continuing to Aperture.

The farther along they went, the taller and more unruly the wheat seemed to get. Perhaps this was what happens when one can't reap what they sow? Dean chuckles at his attempt at a proverb.

Continuing on, the sun began to creep down, casting an eerie silhouette around the more visible, and obvious, smoke stacks.

"Well you can't put it all underground, eh Sammy?" Dean pokes an elbow at Sam, still deep in thought, barely minding his surroundings.

"Just shut up until we get there. This may be unlike anything we've ever done and I would like to be ready for anything."

"Lighten up. How bad can it get? And what are you going to use with old-what are these? Budget proposals?" Dean reached to his lap and began leafing through some loose papers.

"They asked for twelve billion dollars in 2005. That was when the factory was still supposedly empty."

"Maybe Cave Johnson employs oompa loompas?"

"Dean please. Thousands of people have died because of whatever has happened here. Why don't you try for once to be respectful?"

"Thousands? How can you be sure?" From what he heard, Dean couldn't tell if that was low or high.

"I can't. But I think it may be better to aim lower. This went on for, well, no one really knows certain dates. There are court cases, lawsuits, malpractice, wrongful deaths, things I haven't ever heard of."

Dean may be a joker, but he knew when to sober up.

They finished the ride in silence, watching the outline of buildings and a plant grow larger. Their eyes cast upwards to the first piece of signage on the largest building. An obvious manufacturing center with "Aperture Curtain" on the front of it.

If they were this far out, it must be massive.

"Shower curtains, Sam?"

"Only at first."

"What if that plant is their cover and everything is really underground? Could we be over it now?"

"Possibly. Actually, that may make a lot of sense."

The brothers may have gotten into a lot in the past, but this shows no sign of any obvious supernatural activity and yet it was getting…startling.

They continued onwards and after about another 20 miles came across a gate, incredibly overshadowed by the factory overlooking the lake.

Parking just in front of the booth, they get out, arm up and move to get a closer look.

The parking lot is empty, and massive, both equally impressive and worrisome. The logo on the plant they saw before was marvel-worthy this close up. From this low point, it would be difficult to accurately guess the distance, but the building was on a flat surface, and it seemed to go one for at least five miles, with various smoke stacks protruding. None of which were giving off smoke, or steam, or who knows what this place would be running off of.

Slowly making their way to the visitors center, rightly labeled, they found all the windows to either be boarded, smashed out or curtained. They crossed the lot to the doors, both of which were locked.

Dean went to check the service door on the left, and Sam the deliveries door on the right. Dean found his locked.

"Dean, come check these out." Sam was crouching in front of the door, looking at something on the ground.

Dean jogged over and drew his favorite gun, just to be safe, even though Sam was perfectly fine.

Sam was kneeling in front of a pile of scrap metal. But, there were things attached to it? And blood? Dean reached down to turn over the metal, noting the rounded part at the top and how it looked like there was once flesh attached to it.

Sam was scratching at the ground in front of the door.

"It's blood. Whatever-whoever-got out barely survived."

"I don't know about surviving, but it must've been rough. Here's a piece of skin, this must have been ripped out of something." Dean turned the metal over in his hand, running his fingers over the smooth metal, a bit surprised at how flexible it was. He took it in both hands and tried to break it in half, but failed.

"What are you doing! Dean, we might need that!" Sam reached for the piece.

"For what? Look at it, it came out of something. What are we going to do with it?" He tried as hard as he could, but the metal would not break. Is it even metal?

"Whatever, Dean. We still gotta get inside. There's a road there that looks like it goes behind the building, we need to try it." Grabbing the contraptions, they made their way back to the car. Sam lifted the gate so that they may drive through.

Following the road, they saw how a lot of windows were gone, and yet there was no glass to be seen. The intact windows showed a bit of green around the edges, but that was likely just mildew. One had what looked to be a bloodied remnant of a hand print.

They drove much slower than usual, desperate to take everything in. This truly was unlike any other place, building, case, anything, they have seen.

They came upon another parking lot, but much smaller. It was empty as well. They parked right next to the single door.

It was not a traditional entrance, per se, but an elevator shaft. It was under a banner stating "Test Entrance". Sam reached for the door and it opened. A sign was posted welcoming war heroes, Olympians and astronauts. Another above it forbade the touching of glass.

"Missing astronauts. This is it, Dean."

"We should go back. Let's deal with this tomorrow when we have more sun." It was that period not yet twilight, but still afternoon, and Sam agreed by turning back to the car. Anyone else couldn't see it, but Dean knew he was shaken.

A murder or death here and there was tragic, but this was genocide. If that really was blood and flesh on those things, then someone had to test them. And people before to make sure they could get it just right, regardless of their purpose.

Pulling out from the factory with a great sense of unease, they made their way to town.

In a blank stretch of land such as this, distance doesn't mean much, so somewhere in between leaving Aperture and the nameless town, the wheat rustled and a large, bulky item emerged. It was large enough that it caught Dean's attention in the rear view mirror.

It was a large box. And it just came from the chest high wheat.

"The fuck is that? Sam!" Sam's eyes move from the maps and bulge at the sight.

He slammed on the brake and swerved around. About 100 yards from the cube, a woman clad in orange jumps forth and puts her hands on her knees.

Where did she come from? Dean speeds up and kills the engine. Coming to, the woman freezes and Same and Dean jump out and rush towards here.

She melts into the field.


	4. Chapter 4

**It makes me sad to know the first chapter sucked so bad, and that may be why people chose not to continue, but really, I've got a lot more planned for this. But fine. Whatever. They can miss out and this can be our little secret.**

**This is going to be another short one, but the chapter after this will be long I promise. I'm doing my best to make sure their timelines are aligned well enough, and then later they will get really long. **

**The portal gun and Impala run on reviews :)**

She is not certain for how long she walks, but she does.

She walks to the point where she can't walk anymore, where it becomes trudging, and then later she drags her feet.

If she wasn't stuck carrying the damn companion cube, she could be going so much faster, it's just that she can't bear to leave it behind.

So she is dragging it mile after mile after mile, towards the smokestacks in the far off horizon. She wonders to herself just what is beneath her feet as the crawls across this fox trail.

Do foxes even eat wheat?

She didn't know. She did, however, know that she only had about eight more hours until the last of the adrenal vapor left her body and she would be susceptible to hunger and thirst and heat and cold and all those other low-tech 'perks' that come with being human. Where ever she was going, she had to get to fast.

She hoisted up her jumpsuit, zipping it all the way up, and noticing just how restrictive it really was, but she then rested the warm portal gun on her shoulder and picked up the cube from behind. Now she could lug it around easier without burning herself! Chell chuckled to herself. Just too sarcastic to herself. No wonder she was no fit for testing.

But what was the whole point of carrying the companion cube? A weighted one, at that. It was slowing her down as she walked and trudged and crawled until she realized she was talking to herself in circles.

Gasping out a cackle, she immediately regretted it, as she went straight into another coughing fit that was worse than the last. Being alone for that long makes you forget how to act in public- err- wheat fields.

Was this the brain damage Wheatley spoke of? No, it couldn't be. Could it? Of all the carcinogens and asbestos she was exposed to, she loses her head because of fresh air? Probably not. Maybe her best hope is to just suck it up and take the plunge back into society, no matter what the people are like. Without the murderous AI coaxing her along, she has no hope of staying sane.

_Like Rattmann. _

He was alone, within Aperture, (the _worst_ place to be alone) without any companionship at all.

_The cube. The damn companion cube! _

Chell was getting herself angry for no apparent reason.

What's with this mood swing? She stopped to calm herself a minute to collect her thoughts. She redid the math and assumed the adrenal vapors were leaving her body faster than expected. She was making herself go crazy, and would continue to do so until she likely got out of this damn wheat maze!

She fumed. Angry again. From what she remembered, mostly the testing, anger wasn't a readily available emotion. Frustration, okay that's fair, but she could never give the damn robot the response she so desired.

When the ration Chell swung back around, she decided to put all that frustration and pent up anger to a practical use. She began to run. It was a dream in her long fall boots, but still awkward with the companion cube hobbling behind her, held on only by the portal gun.

Was she ever glad she still had it!

Her only worldly possession WAS the most secret and prized advancement from Aperture Laboratories. As she learned from roaming about the ancient testing chambers, Aperture used to be the second most advanced research facility in the country. Surely people would be dying to own something like this!

She slowed to more of a trot as the burn in her legs appeared, that never has been there before. But she smiled as she saw the thinning of the wheat. She gasped in joy and hope thinking this could be it and sprinted the last bit of the way. When she burst forth from the wheat, she threw her companion in front of her and bent over to catch her breath, unsure if she was going to be sick or not.

As she stood, catching her breath, she saw a black figure speed up, and she pressed more into the wheat. Not caring at all what it was, or if it was friendly, she didn't bother to hide.

It blew past, and was only a car.

Cars are driven by people. The world isn't dead! There is still hope! Who cares what they are like, there is no such that as a total corruption. Someone would take pity on her, maybe help her.

But then the car screeched to a halt and swerved around. Her confidence suddenly gone, she freezes as she sees two men exit the car. They could be from Aperture, but it is highly doubtful. The first time she got out, most of the cars were gone, and none looked like that. Also, for as long as she was in there, why didn't she see another person?

Oh yeah. They're all dead. Meaning these men could mean nothing but harm.

_But they just came from the direction of the Lab?_

Not taking her chances, she melts into the field as the two tall men rush towards her, not wasting any time lugging the companion cube.

She uses all she has left, which isn't a lot, and runs as fast as the remaining adrenal vapors will allow.

**This was supposed to be frantic and pleading, sort of desperate as she tried to get out of the wheat, so the repeating lines and low level thinking are supposed to be like that. I hope that was more noticeable than I thought so you guys don't think this is going to suck. **

**This was the last action-less wheat field chapter. Next one is Dean and Sam catch up with her and see the Cube and the gun. Thanks for reading!**

**Next chapter up tomorrow.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I was home sick yesterday and thought I would bang out a few chapters. They start questioning her in the next chapter and they go to town and the investigation begins! Yay build and running through wheat! Just kidding, that is over after this chapter. **

**Also, I haven't decided if I'm going to put Castiel in this or not, so I would appreciate your input. I'm at a bit of a writer's block at chapter 15 in my drafting so if you would like to see him in, feel free to say yes or no and shoot me a few ideas. **

For sheer caution sake, they move slowly toward the woman, but as she vanishes, they take no chance in losing her and run toward the place she ran too.

After so many hunts, the brothers just know who is better at what and how the investigation should be split up, meaning Dean did the chasing of the geeks and Sam studied their ectoplasm. In this case, Dean was chasing a women (again, nothing new) while Sam studied the burnt cube (very new).

The last thing Dean sees before rushing into the thick and towering wheat field is Sam kneeling by the thing she dropped. For a woman walking in a wheat field, carrying that thing didn't really seem worthwhile.

It takes a moment for Dean to realize he is running on a trail, meaning no matter where they ran, they couldn't hide. You don't even have to know how to track to be able to say that weak things, when pressed, become weaker. You follow a path twice, it is more worn, blaze a new and you can still tell.

Dean runs faster. He can't see her, but from a bit ahead the grains are swishing. He believes he hears a faint clicking noise as he steps, but can't he sure. He could just be stomping on the top of the grass. He begins to tire, and his breathing becomes labored, but still goes on without making any noise. All of a sudden, the swishing and the clicking and the path just stop, and he finds himself in a small clearing.

The golden wheat has been pressed into a miniature crop circle. It is lumpy and some of the stalks are standing up, but it is obvious that the woman slept here, since there is one place flatter than the others and damage has been done out of boredom that couldn't be done by animals. It was the same woman that was now looking straight at Dean pointing a chunky white gun at his head. It isn't just a normal gun, it has prongs and there is something glowing within that is too difficult to look at. Something in the air smells a bit like baked potatoes but Dean is pretty sure that's just his stomach talking.

Deciding he can take his chances with this strange girl, he raises his hands and sets his gun on the ground. Dean smiles internally. He doesn't ever recall pulling his gun out, it just appears in his hand. He starts actually smiling and the girl takes another step forward and the gun gets a little brighter. Sobering, Dean kneels on the ground, still confident he can talk his way out of this.

XXX

Dean always called Sam too soft when doing interrogations. He always said he was too compassionate, that you need to be tough and hard to get what you want.

That was after hell. That was when Dean learned that that was the right way to go. Maybe not ethically right, but it produced answers. Before Dean learned how do "that", they were a pretty solid team of equal desire to get the answers they sought in an appropriate manner. It proved slow and inaccurate at times, but at least no one got too hurt. Maybe that was why Dean was quick to make the switch after he returned. It wasn't that he liked hurting people, he just did not have the time to solve cases at the leisure of the witness.

Sam sighed. Dean can chase whoever he wants, even if it is just some girl.

Well, she did just come from the only building in miles. Which, in fact, was the place they were currently holding an investigation.

He kneeled in front of the strange cube to get a better look. It was scorched and dented but other than that, it seemed pretty sturdy. He knocked on it with his knuckles and couldn't tell if it was hollow or solid. Standing, he nudged it with his hoof and practically broke his largest toe. He barely nudged it and felt resistance. It was heavy, probably solid (It held up well to fire, it seemed) and was a good thing to stub toes on. Maybe if Dean caught up with the girl, she would let them hang on to it for a good coffee table for a future home. Don't people always stub their toes on tables in movies?

This time using his hands, he tried to lift it. It gave a little, but barely. It was indeed solid. How did the girl manage to carry this through a damn field? It went on for miles and yet she carried this anvil of a cube the whole way. Something to ask her later, since Dean always caught his targets.

The top of the cube was very badly burnt, that no marking could be seen on it, so he lowered himself to the ground once more to take a look.

On this particular face, there were fewer scorch marks, but more dents and bullet holes, except, they weren't regular bullet holes, they looked as if they made impact with the cube with their shells still on them. No gun could do that, nor would anyone want to do that. Looking at the 'cleanest' face, he saw there was a large pink heart painted into the metal, surrounded by a white background. Taking another look, he saw that this was a repeating pattern around the whole thing.

Sam felt disgusted.

This had to have come from Aperture, the only place notorious enough to use human test subjects while simultaneously making themselves victims to psychological torture.

No wonder the girl was scared.

XXX

Chell lowers the gun as Dean kneels to the ground. Finally confident he isn't about to get shot, Dean relaxes and allows himself to get a look at her.

Aside from the ugly and loud orange jumpsuit, she could actually somewhat pretty if she tried. Her black hair was pulled back , with little pieces of gold foliage stuck in various parts. There were a few nasty cuts on her face and neck, but they looked uninfected. She was frowning and fear showed through her deep brown eyes, and Dean gave her a once-over. The jumpsuit had Aperture Laboratories stitched on the label and it was torn and bloody, with dirt permanently stained by the elbows and cuffs.

Dean's eyes skipped the gun; he saw what he had to before his eyes started hurting. Her knees in the suit were almost worn through but he stopped breathing when he saw her boots. They were black and white, and scuffed all over. It almost looked as if she were standing on her tip toes, but there was a large black piece of something that extended under her heel. It was a platform boot, with some curvy-heel thing. They looked like a sort of more complicated and less bloody version of what he and Sam picked up before.

This is exactly what they need, someone who knows what it is like on the inside.

"What- what's your name?" Dean calls out softy, and she raises her gun again. "I'm Dean. I don't mean to hurt you, or scare you. I just want to help." He casts his eyes to her and she looks scared.

"My brother, Sam, well we heard about this place called Aperture Science, and some things that were going on inside. We just want to make sure everything and everyone is okay." She doesn't look as scared as before, but she still says nothing.

"What's your name?" She still says nothing. "Can I help you? It looks like you've been here for a while. I can take you to the town down the road. It's a pretty far walk, and those boots look pretty painful." She looks down at her boots and takes a step back. Dean takes this cue to stand, leaving his gun on the ground. With hands still raised, he gestures down the path they just came from that lead to Sam and the road.

"Please let me show you."

Chell weighed the options in her head. He doesn't want to hurt her, or so he says, and says he know about Aperture. If they really knew what it was like, he probably would be a bit more forceful in demanding answers from her. But really, she had nothing to lose. She was again trapped in this field with nothing, why screw up her possibly only chance out. She nods and gestures with the harmless gun.

Dean nods, bends to pick up his gun, pockets it and leads the way.

They walk in silence, figuring Dean isn't going to get a response anyway, and he doesn't want to shoot himself in the foot with his luck of finding this person.

They make it back after slow going, but find Sam wrapped around her cube in a strange angle. It looks like he is trying to move it, and yet examine it at the same time.

With a smirk, she aims the portal gun and lifts the cube into the air. When she sees the boys' faces, she can't help but smile more and then she smiles even more because she remembers she is free, and lets out a soft giggle as she moves the weighted companion cube over their heads.

She missed people.

**There you have it! The story can finally begin. No more wheat I PROMISE.**

**Thoughts?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Determination song: The Island (Dawn) – Pendulum. It's got a helluva beat and it's late but whatever I'm going to power through this chapter. Remember how I promised this would be long? I think it is has the possibility of either being really long or really short, but my money is on the long side.**

**Unless I get sleepy. It is pretty late.**

**Also, you guys are damn lucky with these updates! Three in a week! I'm never this productive! XD I'm also never this sick so hmm… Enjoy! Reviews are really appreciated!**

The boys stared dumbfounded as this mechanism lifted the heavy cube dangerously close to their heads, yet neither could close their mouth enough to protest. She would've portal'ed it somewhere else, just to really show off, but she was unfamiliar with the terrain and didn't know what would happen. Staying on the safe side, she would rather teeter her cube frightfully close to the gaping boys.

She let down the cube, and Sam made a motion to test the weight once more in the cube. Still solid, still heavy.

"How did that do that? That gun, what does it do?" Not really in the mood to answer their questions, but still feeling a little cocky from her parlor trick, she lifted the cube once more and started walking towards the Impala. Dean, nervous about the kind of damage the portal gun could deal to his baby, followed her. Guessing it was time to go, Same did too. As she led the way, effortlessly levitating the companion cube as she went, the brothers took this opportunity to check out her strange boots.

They had no real heel, as normal shoes might go, but there was a piece of black material that was jutting from the back. As she walked, it moved easily, absorbing her weight and made a more metallic clicking noise than said normal heals would. Looking past that, she seemed to be walking on a platform, and the general consensus from women was that walking in high heels all day was painful, yet here this girl is strutting around in heelless boots on a thick platform. They must have some more sinister purpose than just to look fashionable. Remembering the bloodied handprint and fleshy-similar supports, fashion didn't seem to be the idea behind Aperture.

Setting down the cube by the trunk of the car, Dean approaches and unlocks it. This girl has no where else to go, plus she will prove to be useful so he takes her bold act of simply approaching the worshipped car. Using the device to lower the cube in, she moves to the back doors of the car and waits to be granted permission to enter.

She has nowhere else to go, Chell figures she can take on a few dumbfounded guys if she really had to, but there was a naggy voice of reason in the back of her mind. Just because time has passed and she didn't know anyone doesn't mean that good people are gone. These guys may not be 'good' but they likely won't intend to harm her.

As Sam comes up beside her on the passenger side, he waves her in the car. She smiles in response and sits with knees pointing as close to the door as possible, weighing escape routes in her mind.

It may seem like paranoia, but after testing, paranoia and carefulness is what likely saved her life, not to mention quick thinking.

Dean finishes packing away the cube, which just barely fits in the car that already has to serve as an armory and enters to the driver's seat.

They begin the drive in thankful silence, and it continues as such for a while, but Chell doesn't know how far away civilization is, so she figures conversation inevitable. Luckily for her, it is another stretch of rushing gold before Sam speaks first.

" So, um, what is that gun you've got? Does it only, er, lift heavy things?" The portal device was sitting on her lap and she clenched her grip on it. The silence lingered as Sam waited for an answer, his head leaning left on the headrest and watching her in the rear view mirror. Chell just focused her eyes at the landscape. They really did not want to know anything they were asking.

"Is there any place you would like to go?"

_Yes! Far from you and your questions. You may not understand the gun, but you don't want to know!_

It was understandable to have questions, but Chell did not feel up to answering anything, or even getting back in the hang of speaking in front of these men. She missed people, yes, just not the nosy ones.

At the second unanswered question, Sam figured she just may not be comfortable enough around them. After all, how she came to possess such things must not be a pleasant story.

They drive on, and from her peripheral Chell catches Dean glancing at her in the mirror, to which she responded with a less than attractive facial expression. Dean backed off and the last stretch of drive was uneventful.

When they came to the city limits, Chell did her best to look unimpressed. If they knew how far gone she really was, they would probably insist in helping her and that was not okay. Chell could survive anything, she certainly didn't need gaping boys to help. At the city limits, Dean parks and turns to her.

"Please, do you have anything you can tell us? Just a name? Anything?" Well if she maybe was going to help them later she certainly wasn't going to now. The man spoke in a rushed and frustrated fashion that Chell found disconcerting. She glared one last time and got out of the car, not noticing the spring that came forth from under Sam's seat when her own spring caught on it.

No one is around, so she jogs forward and into the nearest alley. She slips off her boots and sets the portal gun nearby. Removing her obvious jumpsuit, she is left in her old shorts that were worn under it, along with her two tank tops. Uncertain of the reputation of Aperture in this town, she removed her outer tank and flipped it inside out, hiding the logo. Using her jumpsuit, she knotted the legs and arms to make a sort of pack, which she then placed the portal device inside, hiding it.

Here was Chell, free at last, all dressed up and nowhere to go.

She put her boots on once more, the worst they could be interpreted as would be an eccentric fashion.

She made her way back onto the main street, and from the corner of her eye seeing that the car was still there, Sam and Dean still inside, but looking at something. At least they didn't see what she looked like without the blaze orange. Her fashion may have been eccentric, especially for this Michigan town, but at least she didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

As she walked down main street, more and more people came into view. How was she supposed to blend back into this? These were normal people, ignorant to what was happening not an hour away! Chell got goosebumps as she thought back to the chambers. She could not stay here, this was too close to what remained. But how was she going to get out? Worst comes to worst she tells those men what they need to hear in exchange for a ride to a larger city, or some money to possibly take a bus or train.

On the final corner of Main is a small diner and bakery, with various pies and tortes in the window. Suddenly realizing she's starving, she presses her way inside. It smells heavenly! It has been so long since she has tastes food, real actual food. She _was _promised cake, but she was the cake and that was not okay. Nevertheless, her eyes were still drawn to the fluffy vision in pink on the glass case. She approached the counter and simply stared, stomach grumbling. Of all the first meals she should be eating to come down off of adrenal vapors, it should probably not be cake.

"Um, hello?" Chell isn't roused, she stares on.

"Can I help you?" The clerk was a young man, no older than 20 with lazy and passive eyes. Chell opened her mouth to order, but realized she couldn't she shut her mouth and frowned.

"Are you okay?" He gave her a once-over and when his eyes reached hers, she did her best to be flirtatious. She looked up from under her lashed and patted her throat and shook her head. Realization dawned on the boy that she couldn't actually talk. His face softened.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry. You wanna slice'a that? It's on the house." He moved to cut her a generous portion, to which Chell smiled and nodded when it was handed to her. He smiles back.

Taking her leave, she makes her way to the bar seats by the window. Placing her cake on the table, she removes her portal-pack onto the barstool next to her. Stomach rumbling, she stabs into the cake and plunges it into her mouth. It is absolutely heavenly! Her eyes roll back in her head a little bit and she smirks. Definitely real.

As she indulges in her dessert, a sleek midnight blue car rolled past, with Dean still in the driver seat. With just a little bit of sugar in her system, her mood improved and she remorsefully looked after it. Perhaps she should have been a little kinder. They gave her no reason to fear them, but she was scared anyway and couldn't help but to be rude. They brought her this far, which was half the journey, and she wished she could've thanked them somehow.

The Impala rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Out of sight and out of mind, Chell went back to her cake.

**Le gasp! She forgot the Companion Cube! 2) I know it couldn't fit in the trunk but whateevvvss 3) Where are Sam and Dean going?! 4) When will they catch up with Chell?**

**Well, all shall be revealed (except 1 and 2) in the next chapter, which I'm excited to write. Maybe I will do it tomorrow, it should be good. Also, she starts speaking next chapter, and then turns into a chatty cathy the rest of the story. **

**Also, I really would like your input on Castiel. Since I've got such a lovely group of you lovely readers, it is up to you if you want to see him, and I will try to work him in. Reviews are love~**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm still neither here nor there with regards to Castiel. I think right now, he will not be in the story, but I'm still planning a lil somthin' somthin' that should be cute.**

**So I hope you haven't noticed, but the time and distance it takes to get place to place is hardly accurate, but please bear with me on that. I'm just trying to focus on the major stuff, which is really hard when you have two set locations and only three people, especially since I shoot for 2,000 word chapters. Another thing is going through all the details. To people who really know the game, that may be really redundant, so finding that happy medium is difficult to say the least.**

**And lastly, I am so sorry for my break. I have been insanely busy but I hope to be updating more that the school year is winding down.**

With a definite lead to work from, the brothers turned around on Main Street towards the long highway back to Aperture for the second time today. Retracing mile after mile through the barren landscape, Sam's mind was racing.

_What just happened? _

"I know that face, Sam. What's up?" Dean half-glanced towards to a blank-faced Sam watching the golden fields.

"I can't get her gun out of my head. What was that? Did you see a trigger? Was it even a gun?"

"I don't see it working any other way, but yeah, that thing was pretty freaky." Dean seemed too calm for the likes of Sam.

"Freaky? Dean, I don't know what to make of it." Dean smirked; an inappropriate response for this situation.

"Don't hurt yourself, Sammy. What did you think of the boots? Cause man, if she was as weak as she looked, they packed some serious punch. I could barely keep up to her as she ran."

"Well, I think our best bet is going in and taking a look around. Her jumpsuit was a sign she was actually one of the subjects mentioned in the books. If worst comes to worst and we don't find anything, we go back and find her." Dean was silent as he sped the Impala to a slick 120 mph, putting his baby on the verge of stress. He had no intention of being in an abandoned murder house after dark; which, Dean thought, was a bit hypocritical. They've been in similar situations before.

But this one might not be supernatural to begin with. If Dean has learned anything, it's that humans are more impractical and unpredictable than any other being.

With the sign quickly approaching, he slowed the car down to make sure nothing was missed. Sam started paging through a tattered library book that he stole from the Madison campus in Wisconsin. He never minded stealing, but books were different.

Driving through the security gate, Dean chose to venture farther left than before. After crossing the main parking lot, he saw a single lane that wrapped around the exposed building and around a corner. Taking the lane, he drove for another ten minutes before coming across another lot, and with it, another large building, but this one seemed more like a warehouse.

"Dean, I think that these are just fronts. All the testing and labs they were said to have done in the books would have needed a hell of a lot more space than these few buildings."

"You're right. There's too much space in between the main entrance and this to be effectively connective. And look," he pointed to the smokestacks, "The plant is too far away. It would just be a pain in the ass to put it farther away than it needed to be. I'll bet you anything your books are right, and this's all underground."

Sam was silent, his eyes drifting slowly to the few abandoned cars left in the lot. Dean circled around, and he saw yet another single lane. Pulling up to it from there, there was a fallen and moldy velvet rope, like the kind in movie theaters, next to a large and grandiose gold sign directing limos to the enrichment center.

"What the hell, eh Sammy?" With a stupid scared grin, Dean drove over the crusty ropes and down the next stretch. Sam just couldn't think of anything to say. His books, which he was beginning to believe were more propaganda than fact, had failed him. This was nothing to be expected.

At the end of the road, there was a small glass room, with an elevator inside. The Aperture logo and sign plastered above the building was dirty and weather worn. The glass was smudged and filthy, with overgrowing plants creeping around the concrete foundation and the panes. Dean parked in the only parking area, a spot large as a fire lane, obviously intended for limos.

"Astronauts, Olympians, and war heroes, huh?" Dean shut off the car, and got out. Sam smirked a yes as he did the same. Dean went to the trunk and opened it.

"Oh shit." Sam went back and saw the problem. The stupid box she was carrying was still in their trunk.

"How are we supposed to get our stuff when we can't lift the thing?" Sam was analyzing the cube one more, while Dean just left his hands on the lifted trunk, mouth agape. With a sudden, bitter slam, Dean closed the lid and removed his pistol from his jeans.

"Whatever, let's just see what we've got." Turning the safety off, Dean pushed to the door and shot three rounds into the glass, shattering it. He did not like this situation a bit, but the Winchesters never left an open case. They would get to the bottom of Aperture.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's brashness, but did not say anything. Dean was stepping over the glass and into the three walled glass box. With a glance, he saw nothing but a small camera build into the elevator, but he thought nothing of it.

The elevator was a peculiar thing, a health hazard if there ever was one. It could be comparable to a dumbwaiter in that there was only a small rectangular box for the person, and a waist height industrial grate for the door. There were also no signs or instructions around the room, but a solitary stand that used to hold a piece of paper, but the ink had faded and the stand had fallen. The lack of light was also concerning, especially down the shaft. The sun was thinking about setting, and getting into the elevator at such a late hour in the afternoon would surely prove to be idiotic. Who knew how far down it went, or what would be found?

The girl. The girl would know.

The early testing days of testing required the best, and this was obviously where they arrived. Since testing would go on regardless of status, the girl would know what was below. With a nagging suspicion that this could case could not be cracked without the help of her, the boys made eye contact, surely thinking the same thing. With their silent understanding, Dean kicked a large piece of glass on their way out of the room and back into the car. He was frustrated. They've done nothing but drive, and their miracle of a lead had turned out to be useless, and without a definite lead, or at least without a shove in the right direction, this would just end up being a cold case.

Pressing down his frustration, Dead sped quickly back through the immense road system of Aperture, desperate to get out of there. He wouldn't admit to being scared, but he was creeped. Now just desperate to find the strange girl before she vanished, Dean urged the Impala faster down the stretch of wheat down the long highway, shutting down any attempts Sam made at talking to him.

Ruing the moment he let Sam talk him into this case, Dean turned up the radio and tried, if just for a moment, to forget all the death that must have occurred miles below this peaceful field.

**Next chapter up tomorrow, but it might be pretty short. I thought this was a good place to stop, or else I would have easily gone to 3,000 words. **

**I feel like the doc uploader gets rid of some of my punctuation marks. Sorry if there are any noticeable run-on sentences because of this.**

**Thoughts? I know there was a lot of dialogue. **


	8. Chapter 8

**I've got a lot coming up in the next few weeks, so this might be the last update for a couple weeks. I'm sorry about that but with finals and AP exams, guh I'm busy.**

**And I've decided; Castiel will **_**not **_**be in the story, but for those who wanted him, I promise I won't disappoint, and he will be arriving in maybe five chapters? We'll see how it goes.**

**Also, I will be at Anime Central in Chicago next week as Chell, so if anyone will be there, you should tell me! ;D**

Sam sometimes thought Dean was occasionally too particular as to what made him angry, and right now, he was really upset, but why? If Sam had to guess, he would have to say that it was because this was just really outside of anything they had ever done. This is no simple exorcism or silver bullet cure, this is a man-made problem with no solution. The factory may have become active after such a stretch hibernating, but could that really be so strange? A ghost couldn't do it, and if a demon was behind the activation, why would it leave the girl alive? It also would not have let the brothers get as close as they did to an entrance.

Or maybe it was something else that Dean wasn't alluding to. Whatever the case, the Impala was racing down the highway, yet again through the empty northern Michigan horizon.

Upon reentry to town, Dean pulled into the gas station they drove past three times now to fill up. Standing outside while the meter runs, Dean scouts the diner they passed, too. With a good, loud rumble in his stomach, he realizes it has been all day since he last ate. Leaning into the open window, Sam is gathering all his belongs for when they check into the motel later.

"Let's go check out that place there." Sam didn't look up.

"I had the same idea." Dean smiled at the thought of the coming burger and pie. Maybe that will better his mood.

With the full tank, Dean drives down the pathetic main street into the small lot behind the diner. For such a small and empty town, the buildings were nice. There were no closed or abandoned shops, but there were only a few to begin with. The lot they were currently sitting in was hardly a lot, it was a slab of concrete that permitted maybe four cars tops to park.

Circling to the entrance in front, the brothers passed the large window with the name of the diner; Mel's, painted in large black letters, and behind the lettering was _her_.

With enough experience between the both of them, neither reacted in a noticeable manner. Dean made the nod to Sam once he saw, and Sam caught a glance in his periphery. This careful method of observation and identification has been the key to many solved cases. If the boys were to look surprised the woman was there, she could think they were after her, leaving her to run, and then where would they be?

The entered the shop through the door that was to the left of Chell. She stiffened as they entered, but she was not scared, per se, she just wanted to put as much distance between her and Aperture as she could.

The Winchester's scoped out the diner as they approached the counter. Sam ordered first, just a small turkey sandwich and a scone. Dean got a laugh from that. First and foremost, Dean placed his burger order then took a good long look at the pasty case. For such a tiny town, the bakery was quite stocked. The tortes, scones and cupcakes were nothing to the top row, where a very large apple pie stood proudly uncut next to a dry, crusty cake, crumbs strewn about, so much unlike the masterpiece next to it.

"Make it a double slice." The kid behind the counter smirked as he fulfilled the hunter's order.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother and chose a seat at a small table within hearing distance of Chell, who had a small plate of various goods from the case, along with a tall glass of water. She was very still.

Chell, though, was calculating. She didn't really know what to expect from the men who gave her a ride, but also pointed a gun at her. It would likely be in her best interest to see what they wanted, if they wanted anything at all. The only thought that truly dominated her mind was how kind the clerk was. Every so often he would come by and present her another treat from the case. She tried rejecting, but he always said it was on the house. At least the people here were kind.

Maybe not all of them. The strange men took a seat quite close to her in the empty shop. It would be foolish to trust everyone she met, but it would also be idiotic to refuse to trust everyone. It was an awful situation that she would prefer not worry about at present; after all, she was trapped in the test chambers not two days ago.

The kind boy brought the strangers' food, and he smiled at her, which she returned. After a few minutes of them eating, they began to speak about their findings at the factory, all of which had been news to Chell. She doesn't remember ever entering, and she definitely didn't leave the facility in a conventional manner. The only thing she remembers feels like a distant dream, and it is a security booth surrounded by trees and wheat. She does not worry about how vague that feels, but more so the fact that she can't remember when that happened.

The boys kept on talking, and ridiculously loud, too. Maybe that was just her.

"I'm worried about that elevator though. It is obviously the only way into the building, but we have no idea if it's safe or if it'll get us out." Dean was speaking with his mouth full.

"Yeah, but there must be another exit. They aren't just going to drop these high society people into a testing area right away. And what's wrong with the front doors?" Sam pulled out his book and was looking for something specific.

"No way, man. You see those doors? Something sealed it shut, and whatever it was killed the people inside. There was blood on the windows, and on those things by the door. Something made it out and died there, or was dragged back in. I'm not sure where we should stand on getting in until we have a way to get out."

"It's funny how you're the one making plans now." Sam smirked and Dean shot a piece of bread at him. "But I do see what you mean. This could close the case on the missing persons, but it we could be in way over our heads."

"Yeah, but we've thought that before. But all those people…" Dean tapered off.

"Just when I thought you were feeling better." Sam rolled his eyes, thinking Dean was about to get mopey again.

"I hate the idea that there could be thousands of missing test subjects still under there, trapped for whatever reason because no one is there to help them. Hell, no one knows they're even there!"

Chell dropped her fork. It clattered to the ground and she scrambled to pick it up, furious at herself for showing emotional investment in their conversation. Dean and Sam's staged conversation was working perfectly. Just a few more lines and maybe she'd break.

"Dean, we don't even know _if _they're there." Chell neatly stood and made a move for the counter. Not expecting her to just leave, the boys sit and wait for her next move. She steps back from the counter and heads for her bundle on the seat next to her. Once her gear is in hand, she steps past the Winchester table, drops a folded note and heads for the door. Dean opens it quickly and in god-awful handwriting it reads '_follow_'. He looks to her at the door, and she beckons as she softly clears her throat.

Sam and Dean made eye contact and followed her out the door. She walked out to the back of Mel's Diner to where the car was parked. In the secluded area of the back, she placed her back on the wall and let her jumpsuit bundle fall to her feet. The brothers just stood there. She coughs very loudly and for a few seconds and clears her throat.

In the softest possible voice, in the most raspy, almost inaudible voice, Chell barely can murmur;

"My…my name is Chell. I'm a test subject." She broke out into a fit of wretched coughing again, and made a grabbing motion to her throat.

"I came from Aperture Science."

**There we go. The story is going to pick up from here.**

**Also, Dean or Sam and Chell will not end up together, I don't want it to seem like I am building to that since I'm not. I figured that's the best way to make this pleasing to as many as possible. **


End file.
